Mission man pleads guilty to wife's murder

EDINBURG - A 72-year-old Mission man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the murder of his estranged wife in order to save his son from prosecution for the same crime, his attorneys said.

Pedro Lugo accepted a 50 year prison sentence for the slaying of Josephina Lugo as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. The deal also ensured that his son, Javier, would only receive probation for his involvement in the 68-year-old woman's disappearance last year.

Pedro Lugo's guilty plea came after five days of testimony in which witnesses described him as an emotionally and verbally abusive husband who drove his wife to seek a divorce.

"We are very, very pleased with the result," Hidalgo County Assistant District Attorney Michelle Puig said. "We think this will bring closure to Josephina Lugo's family."

Mission police arrested and charged Pedro and Javier Lugo in September 2008 with murder - a month after Josephina Lugo vanished from her Mission condo. At the time, investigators had not located a body and had built their case primarily on circumstantial evidence.

In the days after Josephina Lugo disappeared, her husband cashed out a $67,000 investment account the couple shared and gave it to his son. He also transferred the deed to his house and power over his state to Javier Lugo before buying a bus ticket to Mexico.

Months later, investigators discovered Josephina Lugo's severed arm and skull in separate canal banks in rural Willacy County but were never able to determine a cause of death or establish who might have been with her at the time she was killed.

Pedro Lugo's attorneys said Tuesday that they had advised their client not to take the plea deal because of the circumstantial nature of the state's case against him.

"There might be suspicion, but suspicion isn't enough," said defense lawyer Derek Harkrider. "But he's told us from the very start that his son was his primary concern."

As part of the plea agreement, Javier Lugo also agreed to plea to the lesser charge of tampering with a human corpse - a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Instead, he will serve 10 years probation.

The Lugo men must also return the $67,000 account that was cashed out after the slaying to Josephina Lugo's sons.

The eldest, Manny Zepeda, said minutes after Tuesday's pleas that the money - while welcome - was small relief compared to the satisfaction of seeing his mother's killer going to prison.

"My mom's family - who she lives through now - they are free," he said. "I know that's what she would want for us."